Fluid-actuated tool.



G. T. GARNAHAN.

'ILUID AGTUATBD TOOL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.'12, 1910.

' Patented July 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET. 1.

Zyz ass 66 C. T. OARNAHAN.

FLUID AGTUATED TOOL. APPLIQATION FILED PEB.12, 1910.

1,030,871. Patented July 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

#2722612 Z07 [Zardfkzvzaiaza cHAnLEs T. CARNAHAN, or DEN ER, cpLoRAno, Assrcnon T0 0. T, emanate MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A CORPORATION OF GOLD? RADQ.

FLUlD-ACTUATED TOOL. I

I ma am.

Specificaticn of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2,1912.

Application filed February 12, 1910. Serial No. 543,535.

' T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES T. CARNA- HAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, in the county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented new and useful Improvements in Fluid-Actuated Tools, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvementsin pneumatic or fluid-actuated drills and more particularly to the type known as sinking drills in which the apparatus is supported and manipulated manually, and. it has for its object primarily tmsimplifyg and improve tools bf this class whereby efficiency in operation is obtainable, the several operations to be performed with the. tool can be accomplished with greater facilit-y,- and greater durability is obtained. 20

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a simple and improved de vice for throttling the motive fluid for the.

reciprocatory piston or hammer and to COIl-f trol the flow of a fluid, such as air, to the hollow bore of the-drill, the same involving a combination throttle valve which receives the motive fluid for the piston or hammer and also the fluid which is to enter the 1101- "low bore of the drill for the purpose of. clearing the bore hole from chips or dust, such valve being so ported that before the! starting. of the piston or hammer, a full flow of fluid is admitted to the hollow drill for the purpose of insuring a cleaning of;

the bore holebefore thestarting of the pis-- ton orhammer, and a further movement of' the throttle valve willadmit motive fluid. to the piston or hammer 'to set the latter into operation, a suitable amount of fluid being still admitted to the hollow bore of the drill during the operation of the piston orhammer, the throttle valve being capable of manipulation to appropriately tl1rottle theimotive fluid for the piston without discontinuing tlie'flow of fluid to the hollow drill and .to throttle. the. fluid to the hdllow drill without cutting ofl the supply to the piston, and upon shutting off the throttle valve, the piston or hammer ceases its'opera'tion before the flow of fluid to the, hollow drill 'is discontinued, thefinal move--,

ment ofthe throttle valve serving to cut ofli both the motive fluid for the'piston and the cleaning out fluid for the bore hole.

The present invention also provides a throttle 'valve upon which the fluid under pressure operates in such a: manner as to hold such valve tightly upon its seat, thereby preventing any leakage of fluid past thevalve, any wear that may occur is automatically taken up and, moreover, shifting of the valve, owing to the vibration of the tool, is prevented.

()ther objects of the invention are to pro- .v de asimple and improved device for locking a feed tube in proper position with re-- spect to the piston and the bore of the drill whereby the fluid forcleaning-outthe bore hole may be properly supplied to the bore in the drill, to provide a pistonthe body-of which is formed of a tough material which is capable of resisting crystallization and has a hard metal head permanently united therewith and adapted to engage the drill, or steel so as to prevent'upsetting of their;

piston head, and to provide a simple and--: improvedhandle'which' 1's swiveled .upon' the body of the tool and formed in sectionswhichare permanently united when the handle is applied, the use of nuts and other relatively expensive devices as heretofore'used for mounting swivel handles upon tools of this class beingfobviated.

To these and other ends, the invention a portion of the tub e'for feeding fluid to the hollow drill, the split clamping'nut by means of which such tubeis' secured to the tool being shown in position on such tube; Fig. 3 represents a' section on the line 3-;3

"of Fig; 1', illustratingthe manner in which claims at the end of thethe swivel handle is applied to 'the tool; Figs. a and 5 represent sections on the lines k t and 5-5 respectively of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the cording to the circumstances of each particu-' lar case.

In the present instance, 1 designates the body of the tool which is in the form of a casing or cylinder to inclose the reciproca tory piston or hammer 2, the casing 1 having a suitable'fiuid-tight fit with the piston and provides a pressure chamber 3 and an exhaust chambers, the latter having one or more suitable vents 5 leading to the atmosphere. The casing .is also provided at a point intermediate the pressure chamber 3 and the exhaust chambers: with a feed channel 6 for the motive fluid,'such motive fluid being supplied to this channel through the passage 7. The reciprocatory piston has a hollow-interior chamber 8, and a suitable number of ports 9' are formed in the piston toward the head thereof. Motive fluid is admitted to the interior of the piston and to the pressure chamber 3 from the channel 6 through the ports 9 while the piston is in retracted position. and after the piston has completed its forwardror power stroke, such fluid is exhausted from the hollow piston and pressure chamber through the ports 9 into the exhaust chamber 4 and to the atmosphere through the vent 5. An annular piston surface 10 ,is formed toward the rear of the piston and the motive fluid in the feed channel 6 acts upon this annular piston surface and thereby' serves to retract the piston, the piston in practice reciprocating at very high frequency.

'One feature of the present invention is that it provides a piston which will not crystallize owing to the blows delivered by it upon the end of the drill rod 11, and this result is attained by forming the body of the piston of tough metal and permanently applying a head 12 of hard metal to the forward end of the piston. lool steel tempreferably used for the head 12 and this head is of slightly smaller cllameter than the piston and is permanently fixed to and forms in efiect a unitary part of the piston, the forward end of the latter in the present instance being provided with a recess 13 into'ivhich a stem 14 on the head 12 is forced or shrunk, the hard tempered head sustaining the force of the blows delivered upon the drill rod without losing its shape and such head is backed up by the relatively tough material composing the body of the piston. the tough nature of the metal comiosing the body of the piston preventing crystallization. In order to facilitate the drilling operation, the drill rod or steel is provided'with a longitudinal bore 15 through which a fluid may flow to the base of the bore hole, thereby removing chips or other broken material from the forward end of the drill rod so that the'solid rockor other material to be cut is always presented cleanly to the cutting edges of the drills. According to the present invention, a portion of the motive fluid (preferably air) which is used to propel the piston employed to clean the borehole and to effect this result, a fluidconducting tube 16'extends axially through the hollow piston and its forward end is in almement withand terminates 1n immedlate proximity to the bore 15 in the drill rod.

The hollow formation of the piston accomodates this tube and the hardmetal head12 is provided with a central bore 17 through which is elongated in an axial direction and has a central aperture 19 1n which the tube may be engaged adjustably while such nut is free. T 1e exterior of thenut is provided with threads which have preferably a cylindrical pitch, that is to say, the threads are of uniform diameter from end to end of the nut. An angular portion 20' forms a part of the nut and provides means for securing the nut in position. This nut is inserted into the head 21 of the. casing, the latter being formed with a central axis passage 22 the walls of which are. provided with threads 23 of a tapering pitch. The rear portion of the nut 18 is split, that is, it is formed with a suit able number of longitudinal slots 24 which render such portion of the nut collapsible to such a degree as to obtain a firm grip upon the fluid-conducting tube, and after the nut has been inserted into thebore 22 of the casing head, a tightening of the nut will cause the tapered threads in the casing head to operate upon theslotted portion of the nut and thereby cause the latter to close upon and firmly grip the tube, locking the latter in position so firmly as to prevent loosening The opening 22 with which the fluid-conducting tube 16 communicates 1s connected through a passage, 25 to a fluid feeding duct 26, the latter being formed preferably in one wall of the cas ng and leading to a passage 27 which is .ad ace'nt'tO the passage 7 throughwhich the motive fluidis suppiied to the piston. v y

Alcontrolling" valve casing 28 is rigidly connected 'to the body or. casing of the tool and the passagesf'and 2? communicate with such casing. The controlling valve shown in=the presenti'instance is so constructed that.

it iscapable of not only throttling orcon trolling theflow of motive fluid to the piston. but it also serves to regulate or control the flow offluid' to the hollow drill for'the purpose of cleaning the bore hole. In the present instance, th-is controlling valve consists of a tapered plug 29 which isrotatably ifitted into a correspondingly formed valve seatin the casing 28. This controlling valve is provided toward its smaller end .with an appropriate handle 30 by means of which it may be'manipulated. The larger end of'the tapered valve plug, however, is exposed to the fluid pressure which serves to operate the tool, the action of the fluid pressure upon the larger end of the plug-shaped valve serving to automatically press this valve tightly and firmly upon its seat so as to maintain a fluid-tight fit or seating of the valve and, moreover, accidental shifting oft-he valve due to the vibration of the tool the'fittin'g31, and a reduced extension 33 of thi's'pas'sage 'leads'toward the reduced end of the valve and serves to supply the fluid for'clcanin'g the bo'rehole. A radial or lateral port 34 le'ads from the central axial passage swaths circumference of the valve "and when this radial port registers; with the passage 7,.a full'flow of motive fluid 1s suplied to the piston. A groove 35 is formed "in the circumference of the valve and extends from "the p'o'rt- 3'1 to point approxl- 'matelydiametrically opposite thereto and V the purpose of this groove will be hereinafter described. A "secondbut smaller radial port- 36 leads from the reduced portion 33 to the a xial-passagein the valve to the periphery of the latter and this port comm'un'icates with a groove 37 which extends part way aroundlhe circumference of the valve. This groove 37 preferably becomes narrower in width as it leaves the port 36,- as shown, -and such groove and portserve to'conveyfluid tothe h'ollow drill for the purpose. of cleaning the "borehole. The handle 30 attachedtothecontrolling valve is turnable through an angle approximately of 90 permanently related shoulders 48;

In tools'of this class, a turning handle is provided whereby the tool may be rotated about the drill rod as an axis, such handle extending radially with respect to the tool casing. .In the present instance, I provide acomb'in'ed turning'handle and lubricator which is in the form of a tube 38 one end of which is threaded into a sleeve-like portion 39 formed as a part of the controlling valve casing and the opposite end may be provided with a removable plug or its equivalent ll) which serves as a removable closure through which the lubricant-containing reservoir i1 formed by the tube 38 may be introduced. That end of the reservoir which is threaded into the controlling valve cas ing has a head 42 the outer face of which is preferably fiat and a suitable number of apertures l3 extend through this head. A recess at is formed in the controlling valve casing directly opposite to the flat face of the head 42 and a disk 45 of porous material such, for instance. assole leather, is

inserted in the recess 4-1. and is arranged to" bear upon the flat face of the head 42. The pressure upon the disk 45 may be adjusted by means of the threaded connection between the lubricant-containing reservoir and the controlling valve casing, and by adjusting the pressure on such disk, the feed of the lubricant may be regulated, a lock hut being shown for maintaining such an ad ustment. The controlling valve casing is provided with a port at which provides communication between one side of the disk 4C5 and the groove formed in the periphery of the controlling valve.

The present invention also. provides a simple and improved construction of swivel handle which is'attached tothe head end of the casing and permits the tool to be rotated by means of the turning handle andabout the drill rod as an axis. In the presentinstance, the head 21 of the casing is formed with a circular channel 47 which channel is preferably, turned in the solid stock composing the head 21 forming two integral handle is composed of two complemental sec tions' l9 and 50 which may be duplicatesand are in the form of a handgrip. Each section has a semi-circular portion which is inserted in the channel 47 'While the two sect-ions of the handle are separate. VVhenthe two sec tions of the handle are brought together and The riveted or permanently united, the comple- 4 mental semi-circular portions upon the handle sections will form a complete r1ng51 which lies in the channel 47 and is perma-' nently confined betweenthe shoulders 48, a swivel handle mounting being thereby provided which obviates the. useuof nutsand other expensive and a complicated devices which are liable to loosen.

In operation, the piston rcciprocaitesl'.

' high frequency and in the usual manner delivers successive blows upon the drill rod. Assuming, however, that the handle of the controlling valve is in a position, say, at right angles to the length of the tubular receptacle 38 which also forms the turning handle, the motive fluid is cut 011' both from the piston and from the passages which conduct fluid to the hollow drill for the purpose of cleaning the bore hole. Upon turning the controlling valve handle toward a po sition parallel to the turn'ng handle, the port 33 is first brought in communication with the passage 27, thereby admitting fluid at ful-lpressure to the hollow drill before the 'piston starts to operate whereby a thorough cleaning of the bore hole, preparatory to the drilling operation, is insured. When the handle of the controlling valve occupies the position shown in Figs. 1,. 4: and 5, fluid at full pressure is admitted both to the'hammer and the hollow drill. Upon turning the handfe of the controlling fvalve still farther, the flow of fluid to thehollo'w drill rod is partially cut ofi owing-to the narrowing of the circumferential groove 37, but a full 'flow of motive fluid is still supplied to the piston, the normal operating position of the controlling valve serving to admit suflicient fluid to the hollow drill to "clear thehole properly in hard rock but a full flow of mo,-

tive pressure is admitted to the piston. It

is, therefore,;possible to-cut ofl' fluid from both the piston and the hollow steel.' Fluid such as ,air, can be drawn'with full force r through the hollow drill without operating the piston and when'the controlling valve is opened, a full flow of fluid must be drawn through the hollow drill before the hammer can start. throttled so that it will strike ashard asdesired, and still a fullflow. of fluid can 'be" admitted to the hollow drill rod. Moreover,

while the piston is operating with full force,

"the fluid flowing to the hollow-drill rod can be regulated asdesired. Upon turning oflt' the valve the piston ceases-operation before the'fluid ceases its flowto the hollow drill 5 rod so that a thorough cleaning -of the-bore has been discontinued. c

hole is insured both before the starting of the'tool and after the operation oft-he tool The lubricant-containing reservoir communicates withv the passage 7' which supplies motive fluid to the piston while the controlling valve is in "open position. The re-- ciprocatory' movements of the p stoncom-L .bined withthe intermittent use of motive j fluid produce fluctuations of pressure in the passage "Z. During those periods whenthe.

I i motive {fluid pressure inv the passage. 7 is relfativelyihigh, there will be a-flow -of"a1r- :"th-jroughthe'disk 45 and apertures 43 mtd the lubricant-containing;reservoir 4.1. Upon 'aIdro'p: inpressure, however, which occurs ment. and to throttle bysaid The blow of the piston: can be upon each stroke of the piston, the air thus entering the reservoir 41 will expand and thereby force a.certain unit of the lubricant.

through the apertures 43 and the porous disk 45 and flowing through the passage 46 and groove 35,'such lubricant will reach the motive fluid supply passage 7 from which passage the lubricant is carried to the moving parts of the piston. The pulsations or variations influid pressure occur at a frequency corresponding to the speed of movement of the piston, so that the quantity of lubricant supplied to the piston will be comdrill rod when'saidvalve is moved in one.

direction.

' 2. The combination witha fluid-actuated tool having a casing, an operating element mountedtherein, and a drillrod having a bore for conducting the fluid to the bore hole, of a single fluid controlling valve hav- .-ing ports onepf which has a throttling passage arranged when'the valve'is opened to first admit a'fullflow of fluid tothe bore of the drill-rod,- to subsequently. admit and throttle motive. fluid-to the operating elepassage the flow of fluid to the borehole.

3. The combination of a fluid-actuatedtool having acasing, an operating element therein, a drill rod having a bore for conducting fluid to thebo're .hole, and a fluid-.

controlling valve having ports and a throt-- tlingpassa'ge communicating with a source of fluid pressure supply and arranged to' first admit fluid to the bore of the drill rod a-ndto subsequently admit motive fluid to the operating element andthrottle-but-not wholly shut ofl"'- fluid flowing to the bore of the drill rod when :suchvalve" is moved to set the tool into operation. r i y i 4. The combination'of a fluid-actuated tool having a casing, an operating. element .therei'mia drillrodiha'ving a'bore forv conducting fluid to the bore hole, and a controlling valve having one port for admitting motive fluid-to, the operating element-and having another portand throttling passage in; admittingand throttlinghfluid to the bore of the drill'rod, the secondrport' and throttling passage adaptedjto tling ofthe motive fluid} element while fluid cont nue's -to bore the drill' rod tinue to flow to the bore hole.

6. The combination of a fluid-actuated tool comprising a casing having passages therein for motive fluid. and fluid adapted to be conducted to the bore hole, and a controlling valve embodying a rotatable plug having a passage adapted to receive fluid under pressure and provided with one port for supplying motive fluid to one of the passages inthe casing and having a second port for supplying motive fluid to another of said passages in the casing, the second port of the plug communicating witha circumferentially' extended groove which diminishes in cross section in a direction from said port.

7 The combination of a fluidwactuated .tool having a casing provided with passages for motive fluid and fluid to be conducted to the-bore hole, an operating element within said casing, and a fluid-controlling valve embodying a rotatable plug fitted in said casing and provided with ports for the motive fluid and the fluid for the bore hole respectively, one of said ports being in advance of the other port and provided with a throttling passage so that when the plug is turned in one direction, a full flow of fluid will be admit-ted to the bore hole, a further movement of the valve'will admit fluid to the operat ing element and such fluid to the operating element can be throttled while the fluid flows full force to the bore hole, and a fur-. ther movement of the valve will throttle the fluid t0 the bore hole through said throttling passage while the motive fluid flows full force to the operating element.

8. The combination of a fluid-actuated tool comprising a casing provided with one passage for motive fluid and another passage for fluid to be conducted to the bore hole, an operating element mounted in said casing, and a single fluid-controlling valve having ports adapt-ed to cooperate with the passages ot'the casing, the port for supplying fluid to the bore hole being in advance of the port for the motive fluid and having that a throttling passage so that when the valve is moved in one direction, a full flow of fluid will be first admitted to the bore hole,

then motive fluid will be admitted to the operating element and throttled while fluid continues to pass to the bore hole, and further -movement of the valve will throttle the fluid flowing through said throttling passage to the bore hole while a full flow of fluid is admitted to the operating element.

9. The combination of a fluid-actuated tool having a casing, an operating element therein, a drill rod having a bore for conduct-ing fluid to thebore hole, and a fluid controlling valve having a port arranged to admit a flow of motive fluid to said operating element and also a port and throttling passage capable of admitting and throttling a flow of fluid to the bore of the drill rod while a full flow of motive fluid is admitted through such valve to the operating" ele--' ment.

10. The combination of a fluid-actuated tool having a casing, an operating element therein, means having a conduit for c0nducting fluid to the bore hole, and a fluidcontrolling valve having ports for admitting fluid to the bore hole and operating element, said ports being locatedone in advance of the other and one of said ports having a throttling passage whereby n'iovement of the valve in one direction will first admit a full flow of fluid to the bore hole, further movement of the valve will admit motive fluid to the operating element, and further movement of the valve will throttle the fluid to the bore hole.

11. The combination of a fluid-actuated tool having a casing, an operating element therein, the casing being provided with means for conducting motive fluid to the operating element, and fluid to the bore hole, and a fluid controlling valve having a single fluid inlet and ports leading therefrom and arranged one in advance of the other, the port in advance also having a throttling passage whereby movement of the valve in one direction will first admit a operating element, and then fluid to the bore hole will be throttled through said throttling passage while motive fluid eontinues to flow to the operating element.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand inpresenee of two subscribing witnesses. v V

'CHARLES T. CARNAHAN. Witnesses H. G. Pnmmrs, MARGARET Munsori, 

